Military Voters from 31 Countries Used Mobile App During Midterms, Warner Says

The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office has released information on the use of a mobile voting platform for overseas military voters.

The app, developed by Boston-based company Voatz, uses biometric identity verification and blockchain technology to secure the ballots. However, election and cybersecurity experts have expressed concerns about internet-facing voting systems, such as this one, being vulnerable to attack.

Of the state’s 55 counties, 24 made the app available to overseas military absentee voters in the general election pilot program.

According to a news release from the Secretary of State’s office, 144 qualified voters from 18 counties cast ballots using the mobile voting app during the general election.

State election officials say those voters were located in 31 countries across the globe.

As part of an earlier pilot program, 13 voters from two counties used the app to cast ballots from six countries in the May primary.

Secretary of State Mac Warner says an audit of the app and the mobile ballots will take two to three months.